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He dragged a hand down his face as her laughter filled the cottage. “Willow.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I’m pretty sure it was her idea. Jeremiah did something similar to her when Nathan came to visit for the first time. They’d been pen pals before that.”

“She told me that at lunch yesterday. Not the condom thing, but how they met. I think it’s sweet.” She reached into the basket again and pulled out a bottle of massage oil. Her eyebrows rose. “Well, Fen contributed too. Don’t ask me how I know, but this is his favorite brand.”

“I’m perfectly fine with you keeping that to yourself.”

Still giggling, she kept digging through the basket as Grady headed to the kitchen. He couldn’t summon any real annoyance with their friends. They’d gone to ridiculous lengths to give him and Amanda this night. If enduring a basket stocked with condoms, massage oil, and God only knew what else was part of the deal, he could live with it.

Especially since he fully intended to put at least some of those supplies to good use.

When she finally returned everything to the basket, Grady crossed the short distance between them and drew her into his arms. Her laughter faded as their bodies met, replaced by the same hunger he’d seen when she climbed out of the truck.

For a moment, dinner became considerably less important. His gaze dropped to her mouth, and he was already leaning toward her when his stomach chose that exact moment to make its displeasure known. The growl was loud enough to stop them both.

She stared at him for half a second before losing it.

His eyes narrowed. “Not one word.”

That only made her laugh harder.

So much for seduction.

He shook his head, unable to keep from laughing with her. He’d skipped lunch, and apparently his empty stomach had decided dinner took priority over getting her into bed. At least temporarily.

“Come on. We’re eating first. I’ll need the energy for everything I want to do to you tonight.”

Her attention drifted toward the bedroom before returning to him, and the wicked suggestion in her expression nearly destroyed what little resolve he had left.

But he’d waited this long. He could survive dinner. Probably.

The meal from Bella Mia turned out to be baked ziti, bread, and salad. Someone had left the pasta in the oven on low to keep it hot, so Grady took it out while Amanda opened the wine and poured them each a glass.

They ate at the small dining table, talking about the day as they worked their way through the food and wine. Amanda had him laughing over something Fen had done during filming, then retaliated when Grady teased her about ordering half the production crew around that afternoon.

By the time they finished, darkness had fallen outside. Neither was in any hurry to move on to whatever came next, so they carried their wine outside to enjoy the night. They sat together on a porch swing beneath a sky crowded with stars. She leaned into him, and he draped an arm around her shoulders as the ranch sounds surrounded them. Insects chirped in the grass, a horse neighed somewhere in the distance, and the breeze rustled through the tender new leaves overhead.

“This is nice,” she murmured.

“Yeah, it is.”

For a while, neither of them said anything. They didn’t need to. Grady was content to sit there with her tucked against his side, enjoying a part of the night he hadn’t expected to mean quite so much.

Eventually, she lifted her head and turned toward him. The look in her eyes made him forget whatever he'd been thinking a moment earlier.

He kissed her, taking his time at first, but the longer her mouth moved beneath his, the harder it became to remember why they were sitting outside when there was a perfectly good bedroom waiting for them.

When they parted, she remained close enough that her lips brushed his as she spoke. “Maybe we should take this back inside.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Neither tried to hide their impatience as they gathered their wine and glasses and went inside. He held the door while she slipped past him, her shoulder brushing his chest.

After setting everything on the kitchen counter, he started to turn, but her arms circled him from behind. Her hands traveled down his chest to his groin, making him forget whatever he'd been about to say. He caught her hands before she could torment him further, then turned to face her. “You know, we do have all night.”